Titans' Elic Ayomanor Appears to be Working His Way Into Starting Role

Jul 24, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor (5) makes a catch during training camp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans are a team on the rise with plenty of new toys on the offensive side of the ball, including No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Cam Ward. They also made some big additions in the fourth round, selecting Chimere Dike out of Florida (No. 103), tight end Gunnar Helm out of Texas (No. 120), and Stanford wide out Elic Ayomanor with the 136th pick.

Months have passed since those selections were made, and in that time, it's looking like Ayomanor has been working himself into at least a solid backup role, if not a potential starting receiver for the Titans, along with Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett.

Van Jefferson has been slotted ahead of Ayomanor on the depth chart, but based on the opportunities the Stanford pass catcher has received, he's very much in the mix to be on the field to begin the 2025 campaign.

From PFF: "The fact that Jefferson was playing at a point when no projected starters were also on the field suggests his starting job might not be secure. Jefferson's benching would likely mean Ridley would move back to the X receiver spot, which he played in 2023 with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Since Dike has played explicitly in the slot in three-receiver sets, it would be Ayomanor who would take a starting spot."

They also mentioned that Tennessee was a team that didn't put their receivers in motion a lot last season, ranking eight-lowest on the year. Yet Ayomanor has been set in motion quite a bit in the preseason, which at the very least suggests a specific role for him on the roster. They traded back into the fourth round of the draft to land him after all.

If the only player standing between Ayomanor and a starting role is Jefferson, the former Stanford receiver should have a pretty good shot at securing the job. Jefferson has been in the league for five seasons and has tallied 137 receptions and 1,876 yards, but a good chunk of that production came in 2021 when he put up 50 catches and 802 yards.

In the three years since he's totaled 68 receptions, topping out at 24 in a season (twice), while racking up 854 yards playing for the Rams, Falcons, and Steelers. It's not bad production by any means, but as the Titans look to see which pieces of the roster are for the future, those numbers aren't going to stand in Ayomanor's way if the coaches in Tennessee want to make a change.